Vietnam Veteran Earl “Gunny” Christensen sits inside the Veterans' Treatment Court, a part of the 54B District Court, Dec 18, 2017. The retired Marine gunnery sergeant said the court saved his life. He now volunteers as a mentor.(Photo: Gannon Burgett for the Lansing State Journal)Buy Photo

EAST LANSING - At a time of year when we search for fresh starts, here’s a story of a Lansing man who got a second chance and now helps others find theirs.

Vietnam veteran Earl “Gunny” Christensen, a retired U.S. Marine and postal worker, is a mentor for the Ingham County Veterans' Treatment Court. The court operates out of East Lansing but serves all of Ingham County.

As a mentor, Christensen befriends veterans in trouble with the law. But before he was a mentor, he was an offender, charged with his third DUI in 2011 and facing a prison term.

Christensen, 73, known as “Gunny” for his rank as a gunnery sergeant, said without a hint of exaggeration that without the court, he’d be incarcerated, in a mental institution or dead. He did an 18-month probation period before he graduated from the treatment court.

“That was probably the luckiest day of my life. My new life started,” he said.

Retired 54B District Court Judge David Jordon, who is credited with starting the local court in 2010, said Christensen “was on a pretty self-destructive path.”

“A lot of vets find themselves there,” he said

The Ingham County Veterans' Treatment Court began in the early days of such courts, following the model of mental health and drug treatment courts. It combines those concepts and diverts offenders from jail or prison by offering them treatment plans they must follow instead of punishment.

Jordon heard about special veteran courts from an acquaintance. A group of local officials traveled to Buffalo, New York, where the concept originated. At the time, Michigan had one other veterans court in Ionia County, Jordon recalled.

There are now 25 such courts in 18 Michigan counties. The Michigan Supreme Court recently gave out $1 million in grants to the courts and supported a two-day training program for mentors.

Studies have found that the courts are generally more costly up front but save dollars down the road because of fewer days of incarceration.

Jordon said the concept recognizes that military service can cause long-lasting problems. Combat training forces you to put aside problems, which is not a good coping skill in civilian life, he said.

“You don’t acknowledge any weakness or admit any problems ... when things happen, you just have to put them aside,” Jordon said.

It’s important to remember that those serving have put their lives on the line, he said.

“If they were willing to make that sacrifice, we ought to be willing to extend a great helping hand to get them on the straight and narrow,” Jordon said.

Since the Ingham County court began in 2010, 155 graduates have completed the program while 53 failed, according to Craig VanDyke, the court’s chief probation officer.

That’s a 75% success rate. It's higher than a statewide study of 446 veterans in 2015-2016 that found a 66% success rate. The charges participants face are wide-ranging, but don’t include any involving death, great bodily injury or criminal sexual conduct, VanDyke said.

Veterans' court is held monthly before Judge Richard Ball.

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Earl 'Gunny' Christensen on Dec. 18, 2017 talks about his time as a participant in the Veterans' Treatment Court rehabilitation program. His Marine Corps ring stands out prominently on his right hand.(Photo: Gannon Burgett for the Lansing State Journal)

James Granger, 27, a plumber, was charged with domestic violence. He’s one of 14 defendants who appeared before Ball at a hearing just before Christmas. Before the session, the men were offered pizza and pop and a chance to schmooze with the prosecutor, attorneys, mentors and each other.

Granger was able to access the veteran’s court, and anger management treatment, because he did a tour in Afghanistan. His job as a combat engineer with the Army National Guard was to clear roadside bombs.

It took him awhile to warm up to the treatment court concept.

“When I first got here I was definitely reluctant. It’s definitely been an eye-opening experience. It’s given me a better way of thinking,” Granger said.

On this court date, two defendants have finished the program and the judge heaps praise on them.

Most of the other defendants earn a lot of positive words for staying sober or sticking to their treatment plans, but a few have failed substance abuse tests. One owned up to it and was given another chance. Another was facing sentencing for a probation violation and a third was held in jail, for his own good, his attorney said, until a residential treatment placement.

“It is transformational,” said Ingham County Assistant Prosecutor Russell Church. “Gunny’s a clear example. He’s a different guy than he was when he first came here.”

Christensen has mentored six vets, with five successfully completing the program. He’s now a mentor to another vet, decades younger than he is, who also is dealing with a DUI.

Despite their age difference, they have a bond.

“I know what he’s been through, and he knows what I’ve been through,” Christensen said.

He said he’s long had a drinking problem, which worsened after he left the Marines after a 20-year stint.

He grew up in Duluth, Minnesota, the son of a steelworker. He wanted to become a tool-and-die maker but found few opportunities.

Instead, he joined the Marines just after high school and ended up doing three tours in Vietnam from 1965 to 1968. He served as a forward observer and in artillery, firing Howitzers in on-the-ground combat.

He had only minor injuries during the war.

“I was lucky. I always said the real heroes are the ones that don’t come back,” he said.

He left the Marines for a few years then rejoined, serving a total of 20 years. After Vietnam, he worked as a recruiter in Lansing and as an artillery instructor at an Army base in Oklahoma.

Later, he had a 17-year career as a mail handler with the U.S. Postal Service in the Lansing area.

He is single without kids, having had “a couple of marriage and a couple of divorces.”

As his drinking worsened, he said his house fell into disrepair, he was broke and unkempt.

Once in veterans' court, he got help from “two angels” who work for federal and county veterans affairs offices. They helped him file for more disability pay and get into a treatment program to deal with alcoholism, depression and PTSD.

He still attends meetings to avoid a relapse.

Christensen said he’s a different man. He takes pride in his house and dresses neatly and he's no longer a mean drunk.

“I was a guy who was out for myself. Today, I have no problem helping somebody who needs help. I have no problem going out of my way to be kind,” he said.

Judy Putnam is a columnist with the Lansing State Journal. Contact her at (517) 267-1304 or at jputnam@lsj.com. Follow her on twitter @judyputnam.

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Earl 'Gunny' Christensen stands, silhouetted, against the railing Dec. 18, 2017 just outside the Veterans' Treatment Court within the East Lansing City Hall. Gannon Burgett for the Lansing State Journal

Vietnam Veteran Earl “Gunny” Christensen sits inside the Veterans' Treatment Court, a part of the 54B District Court, Dec 18, 2017. The retired Marine gunnery sergeant said the court saved his life. He now volunteers as a mentor. Gannon Burgett for the Lansing State Journal

Earl “Gunny” Christensen talks about his time as a participant in the Veterans' Court Dec. 18, 2017. Without the court, Christensen said he'd be in prison, a mental institution or dead. Gannon Burgett for the Lansing State Journal

Earl “Gunny” Christensen’s retired Marine Corp hat and daily planner sit on his chair inside the Veterans' Treatment Court Dec. 18, 2017, where he now serves as a mentor. Gannon Burgett for the Lansing State Journal

Earl 'Gunny' Christensen on Dec. 18, 2017 talks about his time as a participant in the Veterans' Treatment Court rehabilitation program. His Marine Corps ring stands out prominently on his right hand. Gannon Burgett for the Lansing State Journal

Earl “Gunny” Christensen (right) stands at parade rest with hands behind his back Dec. 18, 2017 with the veteran he mentors, while being addressed by Judge Richard Ball. Gannon Burgett for the Lansing State Journal